No Going Back
by Akazy
Summary: Due to Aizen's interest in the prodigy, Hitsugaya got assigned to a mission to go undercover and pretended to join the dark side. What would be left of him and his life as everyone & everything close to him now despised his very existence?
1. Turn I: Proposition

**Disclaimer:** If I own Bleach, Hitsu-kun would totally go with Ichigo & Co. to Hueco Mundo too. Seeing as how he didn't...

Hi there, thanks for checking this story out. This is my first Bleach fic, so please be nice lol. I've had this idea for awhile now, and today at 3 AM in the morning, I suddenly had the urge to type it all out orz.

Anyway, this fic takes place a little time before Ichigo and co. went to rescue Orihime. Oh, and while I don't know if this is canon or not, let's just pretend that after Aizen went off & killed those 46 chambers people, they were replaced, ok? Cuz in this story they are. Oh, and it has a little of the Diamond Dust Rebellion Movie to it, too, but mostly just Hitsu's memories of the past, not the actual movie itself, so they're not really spoilers, I don't think.

And with that, I hope you enjoy this fic!

* * *

Blood splattered on the ground excessively as the Tenth Division Captain struggled to hold himself up, hands grasping the surface while he willed the wings on his back to flutter once more and lift him up. A few more droplets fell as one perfectly composed Arrancar stood a few meters away, as if waiting for his opponent to recover.

"I suggest you think about what I had said." Ulquiorra spoke, face as emotionless as ever, while the other boy gasped heavily, trying to catch his breath and hold on to his consciousness.

"Shut up!" Hitsugaya spat out, voice rasping. "There's no way in hell I'll join you. I'm a shinigami, not to mention a Taicho of a whole division. I'm not going to group with the likes of you, EVER. Tell Aizen he can go to hell, and he very well will be, once I'm done with him!"

The Arrancar tilt his head up a bit, face not showing a hint of expression, but a slight twitch of the eye can be seen as he heard his leader's name being mentioned. "While I honestly do not get what it is that Aizen-sama sees in you, especially since you can't even hold your own against me, let alone Aizen-sama himself, having you join us is his wish, and I will simply fulfill it, with or without your consent."

Ulquiorra started to lift his hands up when both heard the distinct shout of "TAICHO!" and several footsteps, not to mention the reitsu, of other shinigamis, coming closer and closer to where they are. "I will be coming for you again, Junbantai Taichou." Without missing a beat, Ulquiorra started to walk towards the just-appeared hole out of thin air in the sky.

"Wait! Are you running away? We're not finished yet!"

"Hardly. But what Aizen-sama wants is you, no one else. He also told me not to make you unnecessarily angry, and I have no doubt that you will be, if I happened to exterminate them all once they arrived, so I will be taking my leave now. I will simply come for you at another time." With that, the Arrancar disappeared, along with the space distortion, before Hitsugaya can lunge forward, making him swung at thin air.

"D-Damnit. Come… back…" Hitsugaya staggered, now knowing that his opponent is fully gone. He can feel Matsumoto's reitsu coming closer, can hear her voice thick of worry, can see the world being distorted, swaying left and right in front of him, blurred, and before he knew it…

Darkness. Nothing but black.

:-:-:-:-:-:

Unbeknownst to him, forty-six pairs of eyes stared at the screen projector, playing everything that just happened during his encounter with one Arrancar, thoughts and ideas heavily on their mind.

"So, what do you think of it?"

"So it's true after all. But I wonder if we really should…"

"We are at a stalemate right now. This cannot continue on forever. We are losing many lives as we speak."

"But I'm still not sure about the idea…"

"Well, Hitsugaya Toushirou has proven to be very trust-worthy so far. In fact, he's one of the more better captains we have right now."

"I have to admit that I can understand where the traitor's idea came from. Still so young, yet already a captain… surely his potential shall be immense as time goes on."

"-Which makes him the perfect person for this job, is he not?"

"But what if he follows them—"

"Do not be afraid. He didn't betray us for what happened before, he wouldn't, now. If he does this, we will have an enormous advantage over the enemy. I have no doubt it will aid us in the upcoming winter war."

"Hmn."

"I agree."

"So all votes, in?"

"Well, then…"

:-:-:-:-:-:

The world slowly came into focus as Hitsugaya blinked slowly, trying to clear through the thick haze in his mind.

"Ah, Taichou! I'm so glad you're awake!" A familiar voice called out to him.

"Mmnn… Matsumoto…"

"Don't try to get up just yet. Please just lay down. Your injuries are still recovering, Taichou."

Managing a weak nod, the Tenth Division Captain started to look around, recognizing his surroundings to be in one of the Forth Division's medical room. Of course he recognized it, he had been in here quite often over the past few weeks. "Damn that Aizen…" he muttered out, anger beginning to well up inside him again.

His fukutaichou sighed, hands coming up to unclench his hands that had unconsciously tightened earlier. "So he's still bothering you, huh. I'm sorry we couldn't come earlier, but the Arrancar put up a sealed barrier and we couldn't discover his presence-"

"It's alright." Hitsugaya cut in. "It's my fault. I need to be stronger." That was it - simply it. If only he were stronger, he could've defeat that blasted Arrancar, could've defeat Aizen, then his division wouldn't have lost so many casualties, his fukutaichou wouldn't have gotten hurt before, _Hinamori_ wouldn't have been like this…

Sometimes he wondered why exactly it was that that traitor wanted him to join his side. Surely he was strong, but he was not the strongest captain out there, he knew this much. Not to mention those Arrancars of his are quite powerful, too. So, why him…?

"…Taichou?" Matsumoto asked, voice filled with concern, and Hitsugaya snapped out of his own thoughts to faintly shake his head, mumbling out a "Nothing." and said that he wanted to be alone for awhile. He needed time to think.

Matsumoto only smile understandingly at him before getting up to leave the room, but not before chirping a "Get well soon!" merrily at him. Hitsugaya couldn't help but feel a bit better, and retorted a "Don't forget the paperworks!", making her pouting face the last thing he saw before the door closed gently.

Closing his eyes again, Hitsugaya drifted back to sleep, mind filled with disoriented thoughts.

:-:-:-:-:-:

A flash, and then suddenly there is another figure in the room, bowing down to the one sitting on the throne-like seat in the front of the room.

"Aizen-sama, I have returned."

"Ah, yes. And about what I had asked?"

"We were interrupted, again, but you need not be concern, I will have him with us before long."

"Then I shall take your words for it. After all, you are my most-trusted Arrancar, Ulquiorra."

No expression changed on the surface, but one Aizen Sousuke can see the way the dim eyes lit up, if just a little, at the comment. He smiled. The guy is completely under his control. How pleasing. Nothing better than a puppet who obeyed and satisfied his master's every wish, were there not?

Of course, it couldn't hurt to have a certain little icy captain who happened to wield the strongest ice-water zanpakutou, too. No one could ever truly be contented, after all. Not even the man who had everything.

:-:-:-:-:-:

Hitsugaya sat there, staring at the white walls ahead. Though he was well enough to go out now, the medical staff said that he should still rest for a few more days, lest his wounds open up again. So there he was, back at that room that had grown to be so familiar, nothing to do to keep him busy and away from all those negative thoughts. Sighing softly, he barely noticed the creaking of the door before the Forth Division Captain appeared, smile on her face as always.

"Hello, Hitsugaya-taichou. How are you feeling?"

Though the white-haired captain was feeling irritated, he managed out a "Better than before, thank you for your care." It's only common courtesy, after all. He had that, if nothing else.

"That's good. Soutaichou requires your presence, so if you're feeling alright, please go to the meeting room."

Hitsugaya blinked in surprise. The Soutaichou wanted to meet him? As far as he remembered, there were no meetings supposed to be held today, so the head captain wanted to meet with him, alone?

"Thank you for the message, I'll be going then." He managed a curt bow towards Unohara before walking out, only too glad to be out of that blank white room.

:-:-:-:-:-:

"Soutaichou, you requested my presence?"

"Yes. Hitsugaya-taichou, please come with me." Before the smaller captain could ask him to elaborate, Yamamoto pointed a finger out at him, and suddenly, he was…

…Back to that blasted place again. _This makes it the third time_, he absently thought, before his eyes narrowed as to why on Earth he was here.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou, currently the Captain of the Tenth Division, correct?"

"Ah, yes." The boy managed out, confused and careful not to let that anger seeped into him. There had been nothing but bad memories to go with this place.

"We've saw that the traitorous Aizen Sousuke has expressed an… incentive for you to join him, is that correct?"

"Yes, but I-"

"Do not interrupt, Hitsugaya Toushirou, for we were not finished. Now, you do see how we are at a stalemate with them, do you not? No matter what we do, they always are able to push back. We have lost countless lives due to this, correct?"

"…Yes." The small captain grudgingly admitted. It's supposed to have only been a few months since Aizen's betrayal, yet it felt like forever had passed. He couldn't even begin to estimate how many shinigamis were killed by them. It was really frustrating him, yet there was nothing he could do to help.

"That is why… we have a special mission for you, Junbantai Taichou."

"Eh?" Hitsugaya looked up, face filled with surprise.

"You will be accepting Aizen Sousuke's offer of joining him and go to Hueco Mundo, and there you shall be posing as a spy, relating information back to us for all of their plans."

Hitsugaya could do nothing but stared in shock. Him… joining Aizen… to spy on them? Even if it was acting, to join the man he hated the most, wanted to kill the most…?

"I… I refuse." He grounded out.

There was a brief whispering between the members of the 46 Chambers, before one of them spoke up again. "We do not believe you have a choice to refuse, Hitsugaya Toushirou. This is what we, the 46 Chambers, requested you to do, and you shall do it."

Before the boy can retort back a comment of something about free will, the voices spoke up again. "Ever since the day you agreed to be a shinigami, working under us, you agreed to abide to all rules and laws we set out, and any other commands we shall make at any given time, for the rest of your life. Have you not forgotten?"

Growling softly in frustration, he didn't know what do say. Not again. This was like the last time. _Not again._

"I…" _I don't want to do this. Haven't you guys have had enough? Why must it always be me? That last time, I had no choice - he took out his sword before I had a chance to respond, so I had no choice, but this… I don't want. **I don't want.**_

"Besides," the voice cut in, interrupted the thoughts that he were hesitant to let loose, "this is nothing bad, now is it? You're only pretending to join them, not actually joining them. Once all of this is over, you can simply go back to the life that you had once known, as the Captain of the Tenth Division."

Maybe so, but what about that time until all of this is over? To betray Soul Society, even if it was only an act, but who would know? Since this was a secret mission, and to make sure Aizen didn't find out, mustn't find out, he would not, and should not, be allowed to tell anyone about this. How would the people around him react to his 'betrayal'? The captains would be out to get him, his _own division_ would be out to get him, Matsumoto included, not to mention possibly Kurosaki Ichigo and the rest of his friends, too. He would not belong anywhere, there would be no one for him to turn to if he ever feel lost… Everything he had would be lost…

"Hitsugaya Toushirou, surely you do not want more lives to be taken away? With you as our undercover, we will know ahead of time what Aizen's plans are. No matter what, it will surely tipped the scale over in our favor. You want this war to end soon, do you not? You want Aizen Sousuke and the rest of them to be gone forever, do you not?"

Hitsugaya jerked his head up, face distorted as he took in that last comment. Despite all that, what they said was right… Every single thing they listed. Especially that last part. He wanted to kill Aizen, more than anything – this person who started it all, who brought pain to so many people closed to him. If doing this mission could help realized that desire…

Once he agreed, that would be it. He was still unsure of how long it would take. Surely everyone he knew and held dear would hate him for it.

_Everything I have will be lost…_

But if it was so that one day, the future would be better - so that no one would have to feel this pain anymore, then…

_There's no going back… after this…_

"I accept."

* * *

So there goes the first chapter. One of my biggest pet peeve is keeping characters IC. I constantly look for OOC-ness, so if you see any of them acting out of place, please tell me and I will do my best to fix it! :D **Next chapter shall actually be Hitsugaya joining Aizen and meeting the rest of the Arrancars, not to mention seeing a few old fellows from way back when. How will Hitsugaya react to this? Can he actually keeps his temper in check so he won't get exposed?**

Oh, another thing is that _the pairing of this fic is still undecided_. It's supposed to be Hitsu-centric, but I wouldn't mind pairing him up with someone, too. I'm fine with all Hitsu pairings except one (lol take a wild guess as to who that person is) so if there's enough suggestions for it, I will make it happen. Yaoi and het pairings are welcomed, really. :D

So yes, **_please review_** and vote for someone you'd like him to end up with (or that you want to have him not end up with anyone at all. I'm ok either way.) and tell me your thoughts on this chapter. _The more reviews I get, the more motivations I'll have to update sooner_, seriously, so yeah.

So until then, ja-ne!


	2. Turn II: Trigger

**Disclaimer:** If I own Bleach, we would get to see Ichimaru's Bankai already. But we haven't, so uh, no, I don't.

Okay, yeah, I know. This chapter was supposed to be out last week, but obviously I fail 'cause it's out right now. I'm sorry! But to make it up, this chapter was way longer than the first? :D

If you guys can, please visit my profile and vote for a pairing (or not) there when you're free. It's still undecided as of now. Just to make it clear to the few who asked, I just thought that adding a pairing would make it more interesting since it'll be more complicated and angsty. –likes to torture her favorite characters-

With that, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

"Taichou, what are you doin—Taichou!"

A scream, and another scream. Teal eyes, void of any emotions, watched blankly as a body collapsed, and then another. They're not dead, no, he had no reason to kill them. But he had every reason to keep going, and so, took a step one two, and he walked on as more screams filled the air.

"HITSUGAYA-TAICHOU, STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!"

Tilting his head up from the body on the floor, he watched as several captains and some others made their way towards where he was. Dropping his hands to his sides, he heard Hyourinmaru clanked noisily as it collided with the ground.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, what, pray tell, are you doing?" Ukitake asked, voice filled with horror. Ukitake, right, the man who treated him like he was his own son. Can be annoying at times, but he still, overall, was someone Hitsugaya trusted over some of the other captains. _Too bad_, he mildly thought.

"You guys sure are slow, huh. I've been at it for quite awhile, and just now you've only arrived?" He replied, mockingly, and heard a few gasps to his respond.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou, by your answer just now, I take it that you're fully aware of the actions you have just committed?" The second division captain asked, about to discard her current outfits to go into battle mode.

"Now now, don't be hasty." Shunsui said, placing a hand in front of her to halt her actions. "And you, Hitsugaya-kun, put away your weapon, too. The present members of the fourth division, do you guys mind treating those who've been injured?"

The forth divisions jumped slightly at the man's request, but walked forward towards the injured men and women on the ground anyway, intending to do as told, only…

"GYAHH-!" and they, too, fell on the ground instantly, joining the rest of the bodies on the floor, as a strong gust of ice – Hyourinmaru – blasted across them, millimeters away from their vital points. The other captains only widened their eyes in shock.

"It seems that you have not heard me before. I intend to go past here, to where the main central is, where the forty-six chambers people reside, and anyone who gets in my way will be eradicated."

"There is no reasoning with this guy. He is a threat. As head of the Special Forces in Seireitei, I will do my mission and eliminate him." Soi-Fong jumped out, her captain robes already cast on the ground before Shunsui can stop her, weapons ready at hand. Gripping tightly on his sword, Hitsugaya responded appropriately and called out his sword's name repeatedly, forming many paths of ice frozen in mid-air. One of them slashed the female captain on her shoulder and knocked her to the ground mid-jump.

As the other captains' faces changed from shock to even more shock, Ukitake looked at the boy captain in front of him helplessly. "Hitsugaya-taichou, please, stop this! What happened?"

Stopping his hand mid-swing, Hitsugaya glowered dangerously in front of everyone, eyes blazing with intensity. "'What happened'? You ask me what happened? **It** happened again! There is another two… with the same zanpakutou… and they have to… They have to battle each other to the death! One of them died again! For the sake of what – your stupid rules? Those messed up rules made up by people who don't, **won't**, understand anything!" He screamed out, finally unable to hold it in any longer.

"But Hitsugaya-kun, that happened before, and you were able to-"

"That wasn't the same…! Kusaka – he was wrong! He had treaded down the path of evil – even though it was us that made him go down that path, but I have learned to accept it, because it already happened, and it was too late… but these two guys, they didn't do anything wrong! It wasn't as if they chose to have the same zanpakutou," _Because I, certainly, didn't, and I would've given it up, but it's too late, __**it's too late**__, and I could do nothing but accept and regret, only now it happened again, and… _"Why should one of them have to die because of that?!"

Everyone looked at the spectacle presented before them in the form of a normally cool and collected captain finally letting out all his thoughts and frustrations, stunned for an answer, but it didn't matter anyway. In the next second, there was a big sound of explosion, and they could faintly register the flash of fire before their eyes, smell the smoke of the after burn, and they could only guess what happened.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou, that is enough." Planting his staff firmly on the ground, the first division captain spoke out.

Breathing heavily, the youngest captain in Seiretei looked down to see a huge gash through his chest with blood dripping out profusely through the hole, and hissed out in irritation. Damn. He was caught off-guard.

"If you do not come with us quietly to meet with your appropriate punishment, I shall be forced to eliminate you right here and now."

Scoffing, Hitsugaya gripped the handle of his sword and was about to raise it up just as Yamamoto started to lift his hand, when a shout interrupted their actions.

"STOP!"

Blinking in surprise, he noticed that now there was another figure blocking his view from the rest of the shinigamis. As he blinked hazily to make out who it was, something soft touch his face… hair? Strawberry blond in color? Dawning in realization at the person in front of him, Hitsugaya realized that it was his own vice-captain. A lone figure with long, swaying hair, standing in the middle, separating an entire army from a lone boy.

"Matsumoto Rangiku, if you do not step away this instance, I cannot assure you that you will not be eliminated along with your **former** captain, too." Yamamoto grounded out evenly.

What should he do? He could not involve Matsumoto in this. After all that they had been through, this was too much for both him and her to take. What could he do? What _must_ he do?

"Yamamoto-soutaichou, please! Taichou's just—" The blond haired vice-captain never managed to finish her sentence, for the boy that was standing behind her had just performed a kidou spell and knocked her out. Taking a last look at her figure on the ground –_It'll be better this way. There's no reason to involve you in this, to pain you more than this, after all you've been through with the previous betrayal_- Hitsugaya staggered a little as he struggled to stand up, the wound across his chest was now flooding out with blood, soaking the lower-half of his body red.

Strapped for options, he chose the only course he could take other than death – escape. With one last look at the bodies on the floor – his own division and Matsumoto, along with a few other innocent people – Hitsugaya called out for a huge gust of ice dust to flow through everyone, obstructing their visions for a moment, before shunpooing away.

"You… Men, chase after them—" As if just on queue, right after the boy had disappeared from their lines of vision, a barrage of Hollows appeared out of thin air, ripping apart the sky as siren sounds started to resonate throughout Soul Society. And with that, unbeknownst to Hitsugaya, his escape was sound.

:-:-:-:-:-:

He ran like there was no tomorrow – he wasn't sure that he had a tomorrow anyway, now – letting his feet took him wherever they wanted to. Whether it was a coincident or fate, the next thing he noticed as he blinked hazily up was the old temple where he used to go to all the time. _How nostalgic, letting me see a place I usually frequent when I was younger_, he contemplated, looking at a lone temple in the middle of a vast grassy hill, taking step by step forward, the trail of blood steadily forming as if to mark his last time across this land, _it's as if it's telling me that no matter how much I wish, I can't possibly go back to that time anymore._

After sitting down randomly on the ground, Hyourinmaru carved right through the cement in front of him, the now ex-captain rested his back against the podium beholding a statue of the Buddha behind him, and took a look around. _This place hasn't changed much._

Closing his eyes slowly, Hitsugaya remembered those days when Hinamori was still at the Shinigami Academy. His grandmother was worried that he was always alone then, and encouraged him to go play with the other kids in town. She didn't know it wasn't possible, that the other kids despised him, but it was okay, he didn't really mind all that much anyway. Nevertheless, not wanting to worry his grandmother, the boy had then wandered around until he found an abandoned temple far off from the suburbs where he could just spend his days reading quietly and undisturbed, not having his grandmother needing to worry about him being lonely.

That was fine, that was how he is. He was content with that life, but it's not like he could do anything about that now.

The eyelids opened slowly at the thought, the teal orbs glazing over and hardening once again. Hand reaching out for the zanpakutou in front of him, Hitsugaya reflected on what happened, and his hands trembled unconsciously for a moment, a thought running through his mind as images and spoken words were forming vividly inside his head. A single question chanting repetitively like a curse.

_Was it really all… an act?_

As his body began to quiver almost violently and out of control, Hitsugaya instinctively brought his hands up and gripped tightly against himself, oblivious to the fact that now his sleeves and hands were soaked in red, as well. He hadn't regretted what he had done, no, nor was he afraid of what happened next, but the question scared him, because he wasn't sure if he really knew the answer.

Hitsugaya didn't know if that spectacle that he had performed was a façade or if it was how he had truly felt, at all.

:-:-:-:-:-:

It was a coincident – he had been summoned again, to think of a plan to infiltrate Hueco Mundo. The forty-six chambers people were all chatting among themselves, hushed whispers vibrating throughout, so it really was a coincident that he managed to catch it among the voices.

"It happened again."

"Two people with the same Zanpakutou?"

"How preposterous."

"I can't believe there's another case just like this."

"Was it taken care of properly?"

"Of course."

"Make sure to track the soul of the one that died, and keep watch on the one that's left. We wouldn't want another repeat of last time, now do we?"

The mocking tone was unhidden as another voice spoke up. "I don't think we have to worry about that. None of the two had any real potentials – they can't do anything even if they wanted too, anyway."

"Ahh…"

Feeling his world spinning around in constant, Hitsugaya had then excused himself, muttering absently about how he had thought of a plan already to get out of that place.

True to his words – even if he hadn't known it to be so at the time – the actions that he had to take was already unconsciously forming in the back of his mind.

:-:-:-:-:-:

Shaking his head, Hitsugaya tried to compose himself, and that was when he finally noticed the profuse dripping of blood from his chest down. Sighing in frustration, he tried to think of something to do to stop the blood from dripping out. Strapped for options, the ex-captain could only took off his captain's robe and tear it into long strips of paper. _It's not like I'll have a need for this any longer, anyway_, he convinced himself, sitting up properly to wrap the cloths around the wound.

That didn't stop the blood from instantly soaking the fabric, but it should be able to halt the process a little, and that was all he needed. _The old man really went all out on me, didn't he_, the boy smiled ruefully as he tightened the cloths together, _it makes me wonder if he knew that it was all an act_—wincing, he added, _it __**should**__ be, anyway_. So far as Hitsugaya knew, Yamamoto had only sent him to and from the place, so if he hadn't known what was going on, the boy wouldn't be surprised.

It was then that he heard a sound, and saw the distinct light pouring out from open air, that Hitsugaya had snapped out of his internal thoughts.

"Ulquiorra."

The Arrancar only looked at him in acknowledgement.

After a few more minutes of utter silence, Hitsugaya went back to bandaging himself and ignoring the other person in the temple. After he was properly finished with everything, the white-haired boy couldn't take it anymore and snapped, "Why are you here?"

He was stunned when the Arrancar merely parroted back his question, "Why are you here?"

"I—" Taking in a sharp intake of breath, Hitsugaya bit his lips, strapped for an answer.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou, captain of the tenth division, and yet here you are, hidden away in an abandoned temple."

"Tch." The boy could do nothing but to glare at his enemy, hands gripping tightly on his Zanpakutou.

The silence one again made itself known as the two stared at each other. Hitsugaya, tired of all these headaches that he was getting, looked away first before resting his forehead against Hyourinmaru's handle. "Look, just because I'm not a captain anymore doesn't mean that I will join Aizen." The boy stated out in a harsh whisper.

He was met with silence.

"Shinigami…" _is something that I'm not anymore._ Hitsugaya only gripped his sword tighter.

More silence was met until the two heard a familiar voice ringing throughout the small place. "Ohhh, that silence is unbearable! Come on, you two!" Again, a hole appeared out of thin air as another person came out of it.

Hitsugaya instantly stood up, lashing out Hyourinmaru in the front, as he hissed out the name of a person he never wanted to utter. "Ichimaru."

The man only put out his two palms out in the front in response, "Now, now, Hitsugaya-kun, I mean no harm. I just thought that maybe we should have a nice friendly chat, yeah?" Ichimaru then directed his smile to the one next to him, "And you, Ulquiorra-kun, you could stand ta talk a little, ya know. Snowball here isn't going to be convinced with silence, now iz he?"

The Arrancar merely stared at him while Hitsugaya looked at him with the intent to kill again. "_Ichimaru._" Unexpectedly or not, jumbled in with the rest of his hatred on the man for everything he had done, was a thought of, _How dare he call me 'Snowball'!_

Ichimaru only chuckled in return. "Come on now, I really just want ta talk ta ya. See, I've seen everything that had happened from there." The man merely pointed up vaguely.

"You know, with you here, there's even a less chance of me joining you, if there's ever a chance at all!"

"Ahaha, now come on, Hitsugaya-kun, if ya would, just lookit yourself right now." Voice suddenly dropping down to a low murmur, the man merely smiled at the boy before him. "Why don't you just give it a try?"

"What?"

"Give it a try, visitin' Hueco Mundo." He clarified. "If ya really hate it there, ya can always go back, yeah?"

The boy's eyes narrowed. "And I'm supposed to believe that you people will just let me come and go as I wish?"

"Why, 'course!" Ichimaru exclaimed. "In fact, Aizen-sama doesn't want anyone beside him who doesn't want to be there, ya know." Grinning at Hitsugaya, he added with a mutter, "If he had really wanted ya to be there, even unwillingly, ya really would be there right now, dead body or not. Ya know that, right?"

The boy flinched back instinctively. Damn him for striking with precision! He had to admit, deep inside himself, that what Ichimaru said was true, all true.

That didn't mean he had to like it. "So what?!"

"So, I said." The ex-captain of the third division said patiently. "Just give it a try! Ya don't plan on goin' back to Seireitei, now do ya? Why, ya would be dead fer sure, and that'd be a shame!" Ichimaru threw his hands up in the air for effect. "And ya don't plan on staying here hiding in this small ragged place forever, yeah?"

"Urg…"

"Hitsugaya-kun, tell me, _do ya have anywhere else to go_?" Ichimaru murmured out, low but evenly, taking a step forward and holding out his hand.

Damnit! Even as much as he hated to admit it, the guy sure can be scary when he wanted to. Quite persuasive, too. And logical. Even if he was creepy beyond belief.

Hands gripped tightly on his sword for a moment before they loosened up, Hitsugaya glared at his once fellow captain before stomping into the space distortion and vanishing from the temple, all the while ignoring the hand that was presented to him earlier. Ulquiorra merely looked at his comrade's smiling face before going inside, too. All that was left was a man standing there, a hand crossing his chest and the other on his chin, as if he appeared to be thinking to himself.

"Now, now, little snowball, let's see how this will turn out, neh? Don't think I don't know, now." With that quiet whisper that only he himself could hear, Ichimaru made his way inside as well.

Two seconds later, it was as if nothing had happened inside this little abandoned temple on the outskirts of a little town, save for the little pool of blood on the ground in a corner.

:-:-:-:-:-:

Aizen Sousuke slowly opened his eyes as he sensed the presence of another in the large, though hollow, room.

"Aizen-sama, you requested my presence?"

"Ah, Ulquiorra." A smile. "I wanted to tell you what a job well done it was, bringing that boy here, but now, if you would look at this." A hand reached out and pointed at the large monitor beside him, seemingly playing back an event that happened some time ago.

The Arrancar did as told.

"Would you look at this! Such repulsively ethereal power, is it not?" The man clicked his tongue in distaste. "Still… it is quite intriguing." Glancing at the boy standing in the middle of the room, Aizen smiled. "Neh, Ulquiorra, go and bring back that person to me, would you? It sure would be appropriate here as a part of my collection, now wouldn't it?"

"As you wish, Aizen-sama." A flash, and there was no one there saved for the one sitting on the throne.

"Ah, it seems like I really cannot ever be truly satisfied, after all." The man sighed almost regretfully. "Don't you think so," his eyes drifted back onto the screen, where a bunch of people was gathering around an injured individual, "Inoue Orihime?"

* * *

I wrote a Preview this time, since obviously my summary of this chapter in the last one fails. -.-;; Scroll down if you don't want to read my nonsense lol.

Anyway, I… don't like this chapter at all. Too much introspective & dragged out & _boring_! I've cut so many parts of this chapter just to make it more… clean & precise. I'd REALLY appreciate it if you guys could tell me the bad points of this chapter & what you didn't like so I can shape up & express this story better next time. You don't know how happy I was that the majority of my reviews last time were long & constructive. Sankyuu!

And Ichimaru! Yay Ichimaru! He's one of my fave. characters in Bleach. But unfortunately, since I was writing in Hitsu's POV, I had to make him sound as creepy as possible lol. And I'm excited as to when Ichigo & Co. will be making an appearance. I can't wait! XD

Urm, anyway. I talk to much… as always, _**please review**_ & tell me what you think of this chapter. 'Til next time!

* * *

**Preview of Chapter III**

_"This is our family, Hitsugaya-kun." The man smiled, arms spreading out to signal to the ten people sitting at the long rectangular table. "They all have a number assigned, although you can choose any number you like and keep it as your own." Aizen smiled as the atmosphere of the place seemed to tense up in a matter of seconds._

_"That is, if you can kill the person currently holding the spot."_


End file.
